ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Tom Banton scored a century, and Gus Atkinson snared four wickets as England beat Australia by 135 runs on Sunday to level the one-day international cricket series ahead of the third and final game.

Two days after being bundled out for 132 at Perth in a seven-wicket defeat, England was far better with the bat on a flat Adelaide Oval pitch with its characteristic short square boundaries.

Banton posted 121 — his second ODI hundred — and Joe Root (62), Jordan Cox (67) and Will Jacks (54) all scored half-centuries to lift England to 355-6.

Australia was dismissed for 220 in 44.3 overs after losing three wickets in the first four overs. Atkinson did the early damage with three of the first four wickets before Matt Renshaw (63) and Cameron Green (64) shared a 98-run fifth-wicket stand to prolong Australia’s chase.

Liam Dawson accounted for both Renshaw and Green, Sam Curran also picked up two wickets, and Jofra Archer (1-26) bowled tailender Spencer Johnson to end a 26-run last-wicket stand.

The series will be decided Wednesday in Hobart, with both teams using it as build-up to the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

“When you’ve got a World Cup around the corner, knockout games and big games where it really matters to win a series is what you want,” Root said in a post-match TV interview. “So I’m sure both teams will be really excited for the opportunity. We certainly will be.”

“Sunday’s victory wasn’t the perfect performance, and there are still areas we can push up on,” Root added. But “to give ourselves that chance to have a high-pressure game ahead of what’s to come is a really good thing for us. Hopefully, we can take it.”

England’s big start

Put in to bat after Australia won the toss, Banton took full advantage of the typically batting-friendly conditions at Adelaide Oval as he blazed 121 off 99 balls.

After losing Ben Duckett (9) early, caught off Xavier Bartlett in the fifth over, Root and Banton combined for a 135-run partnership to set up the innings.

Root top-edged a pull shot for a simple catch from Cooper Connolly’s bowling, and Harry Brook’s stay in his 50th ODI was brief as he played on to his stumps, leaving England on 175-3.

Banton raised his 100 off 86 balls in the 32nd over and then accelerated the scoring rate with consecutive sixes off Bartlett before his third attempt at the same shot saw him pick out a diving Green in the outfield. His innings contained 12 boundaries and four sixes.

Cox and Jacks combined for an enterprising 102-run stand to help England surge past 300.

Cox faced 49 balls before he was expertly caught by Renshaw, who kept his balance to complete a catch on the boundary rope for Bartlett’s third wicket.

Curran (14) holed out to Connolly at long-on off Johnson, while Jacks (54 not out) became the fourth English batter to pass 50, setting Australia a sizable chase under lights.

Australia’s horrid start

Travis Head hit the first ball of the third over for six in an attempt to spark Australia’s run chase, but Atkinson (4-28) struck with two wickets later in the over to remove Head and Connolly, both caught at slip.

Australia slumped to 13-3 at the dismissal of Mitch Marsh (2) three balls later, top-edging a ball from Sonny Baker to Root.

It was quickly 29-4 when England reviewed a not-out decision for Josh Inglis (3), and DRS showed a tiny inside edge, meaning he was out caught behind to give Atkinson a third wicket.

Renshaw’s 74-ball innings ended when he was trapped lbw by Dawson in the 26th over. He reviewed the decision, but replays showed the ball pitching in line and hitting middle stump.

That left Australia needing 229 runs from 24 overs with Green as the last of the recognized batters.

The chase was all but over when England took three wickets for four runs in seven deliveries. Curren took wickets with consecutive balls to remove Jack Edwards (17) and Xavier Bartlett (0) to start the 35th over, and Green’s departure — awkwardly stumped off Dawson’s bowling — in the 36th made it 173-8.