What makes the key difference is the performance of the Indian players. The teams with the best performing Indian players will go far. Because in pretty much all the IPL teams, you have about 2 - 4 maximum handy Indian, but the rest are just dead weight who are making up the numbers.
To simplify the key is - make your core Indian player group as strong as possible. Then you add the overseas players for a bit of extra skill to get you over the line.