Ellyse Perry skippers Birmingham Phoenix to opening Hundred victory over Trent Rockets
Perry made up for a relatively pedestrian 14 off 13 deliveries with the bat by bowling tightly to take 1-17 off her 20-ball allocation.
And she shrewdly captained her side to ensure her English Ashes rival Nat Sciver-Brunt did not steal the show.
Chasing the Phoenix's 5–148, which had also featured an encouraging Hundred debut knock of 19 from Perry's compatriot Georgia Voll, Sciver-Brunt played a landmark innings to become the first woman to reach 1,000 runs in English cricket's flagship 100-ball-a-side event.
Sciver-Brunt was single-handedly threatening to win the match when Perry, who had already squeezed the Rockets while taking 1–9 off her 10 deliveries in the powerplay, brought herself back into the attack.
Her final five-ball stint helped restrict Sciver-Brunt to just a couple of runs.
Perry's fellow Australian, Megan Schutt (0–29), produced a solid job to keep Sciver-Brunt in check.
Sciver-Brunt was dismissed in the last five-ball set, caught superbly by Millie Taylor off Em Arlott for a 40-delivery 64.
Australian leg spinner Alana King, who had earlier bowled well for the Rockets with her 2–30 off 20 deliveries, then came to the crease and could only score five runs off the remaining balls as the Nottingham-based outfit finished on 6–137.
"All round, it's a pretty solid start," Perry said after the match.
"I was impressed with the way we defended the total, particularly in the field when we cut off some twos and took some really important catches.
"Nat's always a threat whenever she's at the crease, and I thought our bowlers did a job just at the right time."
Defeat was a let-down for Gardner, who took 1–32 off her full allocation and looked disgusted when she was dismissed for just two with the bat.
The Rockets' other Australian international, Heather Graham, claimed 1–18 off 15 deliveries but was dismissed for just eight in the run chase.
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