The 19-year-old Nkota opened his goal-scoring account for the Buccaneers on the half-hour mark when he struck a fierce shot into the top corner.

The youngster then completed his brace just six minutes later, finishing off after an assist from fellow teenager Relebhile Mofokeng.

Amazulu were shell-shocked after a poor first first but came out a better proposition after the interval and actually were better moving forward.

That, however, left more spaces at the back for Pirates to exploit and it was only Usuthu goalkeeper Richard Ofori that kept the score respectable as time ran out.

Nkota should have completed his hat-trick in the latter stages of the encounter but was denied by the upright in of one of a few attempts at goal.

Amazulu grabbed a late consolation goal in referee's stoppage-time after Hendrick Ekstein produced a moment of brilliance but it was too little to late to affect the outcome of the contest.

Pirates move three points clear of Sundowns, who travel to Polokwane City on Sunday, at the top of the table while Amazulu are rock bottom after a fourth loss in four matches.

Local Start Time Venue	23 Nov at 09:00 AM
Local Time	23 Nov at 03:30 AM
Toss	Gujarat won the toss and chose to batting
Country	India
City	Chandigarh
Venue	Mahajan Cricket Academy Ground
Established	0000
Result	Gujarat won by 36 runs

Finished Vijay Hazare Trophy