JP Duminy, by far the best player for Mumbai in the tournament, got to bat only in the second half of the innings after the asking rate had been allowed to climb from around 7 to over 9. He didn't have time to get set and lost his wicket to premature aggression. With shotmakers like Tendulkar, Jayasuriya, Duminy and Nayar waiting in the wings, it was strange to see Rahane and Takawale pottering about in the first six overs without the skill or strength to exploit the field restrictions. This left the shotmakers with too much to do in too short a time and forced them to take too many risks. That's what cost Mumbai the match against Rajasthan - not the "panic" at the end that Tendulkar attributes it to. You can't expect your tailenders to take you home to victory.
Even while fielding, although Tendulkar did well at the end to restrict Rajasthan to 145 when they looked likely to cross 160, the most effective bowlers, Duminy and Jayasuriya, were underutilised whereas Harbhajan, who has mostly roved expensive and ineffective in the tournament, got his full quota. At least this time Tendulkar did not come on to bowl himself, something that had contributed to a couple of earlier losses.
Warne by contrast has hardly made a wrong move in the whole tournament. Rajasthan, unlike Mumbai, kept the scoring rate going throughout the innings and the batting positions were set accordingly. They faltered at the end, but that was due to a brilliant set of overs by the Sri Lankans Malinga and Jayasuriya. But it's really on the field that the captain can make a big difference, and on Thursday it showed just why it was crucial that Warne declared himself fit enough to play. He did not miss a trick. He opened the bowling with Yusuf Pathan because Bravo proved an effective hitter against pace in the previous match. When Bravo fell early, however, he quickly switched to pace, knowing that Rahane and Takawale would find the going hard against the new ball in South African conditions.
In the last over, the two run-outs might have looked like panic, but they were really brought about by the tight and close one-run saving field positions Warne had set, knowing that the tailenders were unlikely to be able to punch through the inner ring. That's why Harbhajan Singh should not have taken the single off the first ball of the final over, and backed himself instead to blast just one ball out of six past the infield for a four. Maybe he lacked the confidence to take the onus on himself because he would've copped the blame if the ploy had not worked.
That's the difference in Warne's team - not only is everybody enthused, but each member of the team looks empowered to take the initiative in tight situations. You just have to look at the transformation in Munaf Patel. He bowled so badly in New Zealand just before the IPL that he has been left out of India's team for the T20 World Cup in England (which I believe is a blunder). But see him bowl under Warne, just like Sohail Tanvir of Pakistan did the previous year. It's a pity that the Rajasthan franchisees did not spend enough money to get Warne adequate replacements for Tanvir, Shane Watson and Kamran Akmal who're missing from the team. It's through sheer improvisation (such as the recruitment of the South African off-spinner Botha just a couple of days before the Mumbai match) and leadership that he has pulled the team this far in spite of the obvious handicap.