Knight was the standout as the Roar defeated last year's Twenty20 champion Queensland Fire by two runs in Aurora Stadium's first official Cricket Australia fixture.

First, the English vice-captain was the backbone of the Roar's 8-113, with her 53 off 41 balls, which included three fours and one six, showcasing just about every traditional and non-traditional shot in the book.

When the 23-year-old was the crease, a score of 130 looked on the cards.

Only two more of the Tasmanians reached double figures, underlying Knight's important contribution.

Then with the ball in hand, her mediums helped put out the Queensland Fire, which needed six from the final half a dozen balls of the match.

Her first three deliveries went for a single each, before she fought back with two dots.

Two off the final ball would have tied it, with Barsby the batter who decided to go for it, but only managed to sky it to Meg Phillips at deep midwicket, with the Fire finishing at 7-111.

"The pressure was on them (in that final over) and it was their game to lose, so it was really good to get over the line," Knight said post-game.

"These are the sort of games you train so hard for. They are the best to win and probably the worst to lose as well, and it was really pleasing that it's gone well tonight."

While Knight's efforts shone bright, the enthusiasm and energy in the field, both from ground fielding and catching, from the Tassie girls stood out.

The Fire looked well on its way when it reached 1-52 after eight overs, but when the Roar started to take the pace off the ball, things became tricky on a wicket that Knight said played a bit up and down.

While Emma Thompson took 2-14 from three overs and Knight finished with 2-20 from four, Celeste Raack was the key with the ball, with her 0-15 from four overs slowing the Fire down completely.

Grace Harris (38 off 40 balls) and Jessica Jonassen (30 not out from 31 balls) were the best for the visitors.

Roar coach Julia Price said back-to-back wins was exciting for her group, especially as they both came at the death.

"They fought really hard and they now have this belief that they can do it (win)," Price said.

"We'll be working on some different things for (today's) 50-over game than the 20-over game, so we won't be getting carried away with this."

Today's game begins at 11am.