Chasing 148 to win, the Volts paced their chase perfectly to win the game with 15 balls to spare.
The side lost just three wickets on its road to victory and is now tied with Wellington on top of the HRV Cup ladder.
These two sides will clash at University Oval on Wednesday although, not for the first time this season, rain is forecast for Dunedin that day.
Although opener Neil Broom went cheaply, the rest of the Otago batsmen pushed on well, each player finding the boundary at just the right time.
Aaron Redmond hit spinner Martin Kain for three sixes in one over and, when he went for 32 off 18 balls, ten Doeschate combined with skipper Derek de Boorder for a partnership worth 72, which got Otago to the finish line.
Otago was given a boost before the game started when Jimmy Neesham was released from the Black Caps squad and included in the Volts team.
Black Caps paceman Adam Milne was included in the Central Districts line-up, and he bowled with good speed.
Play had looked unlikely earlier in the day as New Plymouth was hit by heavy rain on Saturday and early yesterday.
However, the ground staff managed to get plenty of water off the ground and the match started on time at 4pm.
With the outfield still damp, it was something of a surprise Central Districts decided to bat.
The home side got off to a bad start when opening batsman Josh Cobb was back in the pavilion after the first ball, caught behind off James McMillan.
The Stags, who are dead last on the table and have not won a twenty20 game all season, limped along and, by the middle of the sixth over, had four batsmen dismissed.
With the loss of the early wickets, the home side had to consolidate somewhat and the run rate dried up.
Skipper Kieran Noema-Barnett and Doug Bracewell then came together and the Central innings got going again.
They put on 60 runs in just over five overs and Noema-Barnett, in particular, found the short boundaries of Pukekura Park.
Noema-Barnett eventually went in the 16th over and a few lusty blows got Central Districts through to what was not a huge total, but gave something for the Central Districts bowlers to defend.
James McMillan, Jacob Duffy and Neesham all bowled well for Otago.
CD suffered a blow just before the match when Jacob Oram pulled out through injury.
After playing Wellington, Otago's final round-robin game in the competition is against Central Districts, also at the University Oval, next Sunday.
In something of a strange move, the finals will be played in Hamilton, regardless of which sides are playing.
The top qualifier goes straight through to the final on January 18 while the second and third placegetters will play in Hamilton on January 17.
Central Districts is the only team out of the running to make the finals, after Canterbury beat Auckland by 21 runs in Christchurch yesterday, to stay in contention.
